Blonde
by I'm-Modal-Soul
Summary: Jaune and Yang didn't know what to expect on their first day to Beacon University. Both wanted a quiet day to get ready for the upcoming semester. They certainly were not expecting to be living together as dorm mates for the year. More importantly, neither one knew how much they would end up needing one another to heal old wounds. Yang X Jaune. Slowburn
1. Orientation

Beacon University

A welcoming school that accommodated its students with several clubs, sports and cram-inducing classes on request. Tuition was a bit steep but nothing that a few scholarships couldn't help with. The weather was sunny but cool enough to allow outerwear without looking out of place. The sun hung high above the cloudless skies and the trees nearby were already becoming two-tone to signify summer was ending. The ambiance of students chattering away filled the grounds as a first year walked on by while minding his own business. The boy just wanted the semester to kick in already as he walked to his room, tugging the luggage roller behind him. He quickly glanced down at a piece of paper in his hand to remind himself where he would be staying during his time at Beacon University. The words 'Jaune Arc' were emblazoned on the center alongside his room number, 3-C. Once he memorized it, he placed the paper back into his pants. He looked around for signs, hoping to not get lost on the first day. It took a bit of wandering before he finally came across wooden signs that showed the direction to follow for dorms.

It didn't take long for Jaune to enter the lobby of his dormitory. It was big enough to lounge around with couches and sofas for tired students or for emergency study sessions. It only took an elevator and a short walk before he came across his room. He found it a little strange that no one was outside their dorms but chalked it up to arriving earlier than the others. He entered with a sigh and noticed two beds, one on the left side and the other on the right with their respective desks.

"Right..." He forgot that he may have a potential roommate stay with him for the semester. Part of him worried he'd get a sloppy, bothersome roommate and make his first semester a chore to slog through. Another half wished for the opposite and perhaps having a new friend by the end of the year.

'_Please let it be the latter,_' he thought as he set his bags down and stretched. The blond boy crashed onto his bed with his phone in his hand. The mattress conformed to the shape of his body seamlessly and the pillow began to ease his mind. Starting tomorrow, Jaune Arc will be a freshman and not a senior. A montage of the past summer rushed by in his head. He tried to savor every moment but he couldn't. The only thing he has now is his memories and the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia aching at his chest. Rather than enter a downward spiral, he found comfort that this is an opportunity to form new memories and experiences. With closed eyes, Jaune felt a moment of clarity and convinced himself to give his best shot moving forward.

Before Jaune could lull himself to sleep, he heard the dorm door open. His roommate likely just found his room and now was the time make a good first impression. He turned his body to the side so he would face the door and the person he would be living with for the next four months.

It's at that moment the blonde boy couldn't stop making eye contact at the woman standing still at the entrance. In fact, not just one, but two women set their gaze on him

"..."

"..."

"..."

A girl around his age with flowing, blonde hair stood in between the door with a look of shock. The other owned dark black hair that stopped on the small of her back. Surprise turned into confusion on their end as well. "Sorry, I think we might have got the wrong room." The blonde student was the first to talk between them and Jaune could only respond on auto-pilot.

"Oh, no problem." The conversation ended as fast as it started as he watched them briskly walk away from the door. He was fully awake now, a sense of dread and anxiety raising by the second as his mind wondered if they wasn't mistaken. Maybe he's the one in the wrong room?

"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?!" The same blonde woman who excused herself came back, with skepticism coating her words.

"What?" Jaune asked, a mix of confused and alarmed.

"Just what do you think you're doing in _our_ room?" It was at this point that Jaune shot up from the bed in self-defense.

"No, this is my room, what're you talking about?" he asked the same question right back in a light tone to show he's not trying to be rude but this woman - whose name he still didn't know - glared in clear disbelief while her friend just watched from behind, also annoyed but staying reserved.

"Then why does this paper says 3-C and assigned to the both of us?" Now, unless he was hallucinating, his paper said the exact same thing. He instinctively reached for his pocket and pulled out the paper telling him where he'd stay.

"That can't be right! It says the same thing here for me here too. Unless there's a new rule, only two people can dorm in a room." He didn't falter under her fiery gaze and show he had a reason to be here. She held up her own paper alongside his as a point of reference. Sure enough, it was the same email sender, same subject and same wording outside of who it was intended for. The room number was identical. The tense body language she owned slowly faded from her face and she looked more accepting of him.

"How about that, your story actually checks out." Jaune sighed in relief that he wasn't persecuted day one.

"I didn't have a reason to lie and have nothing to hide."

"Even if you're right, that doesn't help out who actually belongs in this room Yang." The dark haired girl who didn't say a word until now spoke up, finding this a bigger headache to deal with as she turned to her friend. "The RA will have to fix this so no one looks at us weird." She then remembered Jaune was in the same room as she spoke. "No offense."

"Blunt as always, Blake." The two girls were bantering like long time friends and leaving Jaune in the dust but he had no business talking in case it gets awkward. "Okay, my bad for grilling you, but I have a short fuse for BS. I'm not like that all the time, just some of the time." The blonde woman's attitude changed suddenly once she knew the guy wasn't a creep. "I think they can correct it by today. I'll send an email out. So, just get comfortable I guess, it is our room after all." She shook her head as she placed her belongings on her side of the room and took a seat, pretending she wasn't just accusing him a moment ago.

"I think you're jumping the gun there. No guarantee it's _our_ room yet."

"I just have a hunch okay, trust me." The two chatted comfortably with one another and forgot there was another guy in the room. It also dawned on them that they haven't introduced themselves to him and should be courteous. Beaming a bright smile "Name's Yang. Enjoy the view while it last."He couldn't tell what she was referring to but Jaune took it at face value to not cause any more problems.

"My god, you did not just say that," Blake said, unable to contain her eye roll at the bad flirting attempt.

"So what if I did?" There was a small amused smirk on her lips as she finished her sentence with a hand on her hip.

"..." Blake wasn't going to play around with that and turned her head to the other Blond in the room. "Name's Blake. You're Jaune right like it said on the paper? Anything we should know until they fix this mess?" Jaune smiled, liking the fact Blake appeared more down to earth and blunt than her...energetic and teasing partner

"None that I don't know of." Jaune couldn't help but feel her mood was infectious, and despite himself he couldn't help but speak. " I thought I was going to be labeled a pervert and an outcast in a heartbeat." Yang heard his words and couldn't stop herself form replying.

"That can still happen." Yang was grinning ear to ear, but he wasn't. One sleazy act combined with a rumor and boom, his university days are going to be hell. "You're fine though, you look...normal so that's a plus." He couldn't help but smile back and see Yang being friendly. As the trio came to agreement of this awkward solution fixed, they were able to have a fun chat and see their plans for the semester, while waiting for an RA to come address the issue.

* * *

The sun waned down to the side and casting orange hues for the coming sunset. Most of the newcomers have already been acquainted with their dorm and are either taking a walk to familiarize themselves with routes to get to class, or casually relaxing in their respective room. Jaune would be doing the former as he jogged across campus and wanting to not get lost tomorrow in what will be a major sea of traffic for the ones stuck with morning class. He slowed his pace to a stroll as he approached the dorm. Running helped cleared his mind of the present and is great for his physical health. Despite this, his situation never left his mind. He's wondering about how his new roommate might be and if they're easy going and chill Or worse, strict and having high demands. He pulls down his hoodie with a deep sigh once he reaches his floor. He just prayed this was all sorted out.

"No way I'm going to let a guy stay with me!" Seems the situation wouldn't be that easy. Jaune stumbled onto the scene of a white haired girl vehemently rejecting what seemed to be him dorming with her as a solution. The person she was talking to was a tall, blonde haired woman in a white dress shirt, skirt and glasses. She looked like an adult and too mature for students. Perhaps a teacher? She wasn't phased at all by the loud outcry.

"Weiss Schnee, I understand the joy of having a room by yourself, but surely you understand the situation we're in with a computer error. No one else has an open room other than you, and this is what we came up with."

"And I paid extra so I can keep my own room and not have to deal with another roommate."

"While that's true, our hands are tied. We can let the student Jaune Arc simply commute to the university, but that would be us ignoring his choice to stay here and would be quite rude don't you think?" At this point, all Jaune could do was stand still and watch the tense scene unfold and hearing himself spoken in third person.

"Excuse me." Jaune couldn't stand there and not try to find some different solution, even though he's certain all options were the tall blonde woman and the girl named Weiss looked at him. "Are you sure there's no other options?" The tall adult pushed her glasses in and shook her head.

"I'm afraid no. There's only one option I have at the moment, but I also can't just force you two together as the headache it would bring would just make it pointless." He frowned at this and as he glanced at Weiss, she herself had a frown, er, scowl at being asked about having a dormmate. He's not one to judge but it definitely screams selfish.

"Hey, what's going on" asked a familiar voice behind them. He turned to see Yang and Blake coming to the floor. They did tell him they were going to do some sight seeing and maybe grab a late lunch. Frankly, they're arriving at amore awkward time than him. "Is the dorm situation getting handled Miss..." She trailed off since she didn't know her name.

"Glynda Goodwitch is my name, please refer to me with Goodwitch moving forward. Despite there being an error, I'm afraid all the rooms are at max capacity. If I was to remove him, he'd have to either commute, which isn't an option I'm assuming since he chose to dorm here or sleep outside with a tent. I don't think that's a humane thing to do either if my opinion matters. It's really your call."

"And I'm not going to budge on my stance on dorming by myself!" By this point, Jaune felt as though everyone was listening in on this. While he's feeling self-conscious, his roommate at the time was not liking the vibe Weiss was giving.

"You're really not going to help him out when he has nowhere else to go?!"

"Of course not, I made the effort to stay by myself and just cause there's an error on the university's side, I'm not going to make it my problem."

"Are you serious right now? You're going to put your needs over someone else that needs help?!"

"Yes, I am. I paid extra to be alone and frankly, this shouldn't be my problem." Jaune was not facing Yang but he can sense this evil, deadly aura rising from her as this continued.

"You're acting like an entitled little b-"

"Calm down you two" warned Glynda as she removed her glasses and took a deep sigh. All this yelling only brought more attention to the matter as students were watching by their room doors."Look, I don't know what's going to happen, but Jaune is going to be in a dorm room before I leave and I don't care how it's going to happen so help me god!" There was an awkward silence, death glares being shared between the students as no one said anything.

"I'll do it." No one expected Blake to volunteer, who looked frustrated herself.

"Done." Everyone looked at the raven haired girl who helped make the decision but out of everyone, Yang was the most shocked.

"Are you serious right now?"

"Jaune doesn't really deserve to be punished for nonsense and I don't think my new roommate is going to complain about having a girl in her room compared to a guy I assume."Weiss maintained the fierce scowl but she was far less upset about it than with Jaune.

"For now, please don't give me a reason to come back here for disciplinary action. I haven't had this much of a headache in a long time." She took a moment to compose herself and take a deep breath. "I expect you four to be on your best behavior. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for classes tomorrow." With that, and she bid adieu to them. Weiss was the next person to depart, heading to her own room a few dorms down, with a slam of her door to emphasize her dislike. Yang was just as upset, Blake was already done with it and Jaune felt like him existing alone just ruined the start of the semester for three girls.

Blake went to her old room, needing to pack up and get her stuff together and Yang was quick to follow her.

"I can't believe that little bitch wouldn't budge at all!" Yang needed to vent and rightfully so since it seems luck wasn't on her side. Yang frankly went on a small rant but Jaune needed to tune her out cause he couldn't keep up with her curses. On the other hand, Jaune still couldn't wrap his head on Blake's decision.

"Blake, I'm thankful for you helping me out but, why? Why did you say yes to dorm with...her?" Blake was rather quick in her response.

"I've dealt with people like her and had friends who were tormented by people like her. I might be quiet, but I'm also not going to let her walk over you and talk back to Yang like that. So I'm going to ruin her stay with my presence and not let you suffer because of her selfishness. I'd be much happier hanging out with Yang, but you two aren't that far from me and there's no limit on me coming over whenever. I figured it was a good enough compromise."

"It's still not right. 'Oh, I paid extra, I get to have the room all to myself.' Spoiled brat." By this point, Yang calmed down a bit but she was fuming underneath. "At least you're not too far and can hang out whenever, but still, she's on the shit-list and classes hasn't even started."

"It'll be fine, we all share some of the classes and can just meet up. Besides, I'm slightly curious how you two deal with living with one another." Blake brought a point neither of the two new roommates thought of. They were going to dorm together, boy and girl in the same space for a good four months and no one else has that arrangement on the floor. "I guess Jaune will be enjoying the view the whole semester." She smirked back at her friend to point out that her words might have brought bad karma to the whole agreement.

"..." In hindsight, the joke was biting her in the ass and Jaune was looking off to the side, trying to not show he was a little embarrassed that she'd think that. Once Blake had everything she needed, she waved goodbye to them.

"I'll see you two in the morning, don't make any loud noises, I'm just down the hall." She somehow found some humor to be had in their current situation and Yang just shut the door in her face as a joke.

"She's got a dirty mind doesn't she?" Yang tried to lighten up the mood since this isn't going to change and also knowing this isn't Jaune's fault at all and shouldn't have this energy carry over to him. He was caught off guard with the question and tried to smile. "She didn't seem to be the type to be honest."

"Take a glance at her book collection next time and you'll change your mind. Romance novels, and not the cute ones either." The blond boy had a good sense what type of smutty material she's reading. He had his siblings to blame for sharing books left and right in front of him. To break the ice on how to live in the same dorm, Jaune decided to ask an important question that living with seven sisters taught him.

Alright, let's start with the showe-"

"I get to shower first." She beat him to the punch with a smirk.

"..." He couldn't even laugh it off at how fast she was ready to take one in his family budged on who got the bathroom and fought to the death for it. "That wasn't what I was going for, but that works too. What if you wake up late?"

"That shouldn't happen, I have like, seven alarms to wake me up...hopefully." Yang gave a carefree shrug to further drive her reliance on her phone to wake her up.

"Alright, you get to shower first. Do we change inside the bathroom? Outside or -"

"That's an easy one. I'll change inside. As for you, do what's comfortable for you, I won't mind. " His cheeks tinged red as he watches that sly cat like grin on her face say it all. This sounds like a test, or maybe she just likes a show.

"...I'm going to be a gentleman and change in the bathroom." The news broke her heart and she sighed in disappointment, thinking she can have her cake and eat it too.

"Boo, killjoy."

"Anyways, that's two major things taken cared of. What else..." This time, it was Yang's turn to impose a rule.

"If we find somebody we like and one of us isn't here, it's alright if we have the room to ourselves?"

"If you find somebody, I'm sure I can go for a long two mile run or something, I don't really care but give me a heads up." Jaune thought with this, any awkwardness gets sorted out before it happens.

"And you?" At least she cared to ask about his chances of getting dates. With a shy smile he shook his head as his mind briefly flashes back from before summer break where everything was good, until it wasn't.

"Nah, I don't see myself running head first into dating. Maybe if I find someone I care about, but, I'm not going to put myself out there." Most responses to having a guy be upfront and honest would at least be given a compliment or a thumbs up.

"Boooo." Yang wasn't having any of it. Luckily, she wasn't entirely rude, just disappointed she couldn't pick the roommate's brain a bit more or rather, he didn't seem to match her energy.

"I'm pretty boring, but I'm not into pretending to be someone else. You get to know who I am and what I stand for." There was a small pause between them as Yang thought about what he said before continuing her care-free nature.

"I'll give you that Jaune. Lots of people I've met have been very different when you get to know them." With a yawn and stretched arms, she decides it's time to hit the hay. "It's getting late. Remember, I get to shower first, don't forget. Also, dibs on the bed with the window view." Jaune noticed she had several demands but it's the least he can do for now in this big mess.

* * *

The fierce sun rays stirred the male blond out of his slumber. The first day of his college semester was here. He stretched his arms wide with a yawn and he rose up to not fall prey to his bed. Light, rhythmic taps could be heard with an empty bed in his vision. His brain whirred to connect the dots. The tapping came to a stop, and Jaune quickly discovered that Yang had just finished her shower. Hurriedly, he returned back to his bed, facing away from the door. Minutes passed since he turned to uphold his integrity before his roommate would exit from the bathroom. He wanted to say something to greet her, but she would beat him to the punch. A small push and pull on his shoulder in case he's still asleep.

"Hey, get up sleepyhead. First class of the semester's going to start!"

"Oh...yeah, I'm awake. I wanted to wait until you were dressed before getting up." He still didn't turn to face her yet. She smiled a little, appreciating the gesture and for not taking advantage like most guys. However, she wasn't going to let her guard down.

"I'm dressed up so you can go in and shower now. I left some hot water for you. Quick warning though, it's not as hot as you might like." He nodded to her words, finding the heat made no difference. A family with several sisters made it the norm to shower without hot water. He rose up and moved to the edge of his bed where his belongings laid in a large bag. He zipped it open and got his things together. Shirt, pants, underwear, socks, towels, the whole nine yards. He then faced the other side of the room and his heart eased up. She's dressed from head to toe. Long sleeve t-shirt with orange dye, dark cargo pants and a light grey jacket, she resembled a tomboy. He closed the bathroom door behind him. It didn't take long to strip and let the water rinse him of morning exhaustion.

He did notice something immediately off though.

There was no hot water. Clenched fists and body reacting in defense from the cold water splashing his skin was upsetting. He held off a yell and eased into the discomfort. A heavy sigh leaves him as he exuded disappointment.

"Lots of hot water to go around."

The shower lasted only a few minutes as he yanked the curtains to the side to leave the tub. He went through his morning routine, brushing his teeth, combing his hair, getting dressed. Once he got them all sorted out, he flashed a smile to himself, in the hopes it would set his day off right. He grabbed his towels, his pajamas and the rest of his items as he exits the bathroom. In his presence, he would find Yang waiting by the door gripping her book bag, smiling.

"Took you long enough." The tongue in cheek response brought a sarcastic tone out of him.

"Yeah, I was waiting for the hot water to kick in." She promised him heat and he got nothing of the sorts when he stepped in.

"Sorry about that" she said, but all with a grin. "How about you go first tomorrow to make it up?"

"Deal, no take backs." He went to his side of the bed to grab his own bag holding his supplies for the first few classes. "By the way, why did you wait for me?"

"Oh you know, I can't have you leaving first, it puts the spotlight on us. If I left first, then the spotlight would be on you. So, going together would balance it out and not have people ask us anything and mind their own business. I'm sure you know how us girls can be." She thought of him and herself to not draw attention for either one. In regards to knowing how girls can be, he chimed in on that bit.

"Yeah, my sisters taught me well in that regard."

"Oh, sisters?" Her brow raises at his comment regarding his family and wanted to know more. "You got older sisters, younger?"

"Both actually. It's pretty easy when you are the only guy with seven sisters." She blinked her eye twice and made sure to replay his words in her head.

"Seven?"

"Yeah, seven, why?" Now Yang's family wasn't anything perfect by any means so she wasn't judging. However, putting it into perspective of reproducing eight times sent a jolt of pain within her and couldn't fathom the thought.

"Man, your parents got busy." She tried to mutter it but he could hear her.

"That's not a great image to have first thing in the morning, Yang." Realizing her mistake, she tried to chuckle away her error awkwardly and redirect her question.

"Sorry, it just came to mind. Speaking of sisters, I have a sister myself. She's younger than me and still in high school. She'll likely visit one of these days when she's not getting in trouble."

"Is she a troublemaker?"

"No, not at all. Whenever anything happened where she couldn't fix it, she'd come to me so I salvage it. She can't do that anymore. I'm here, and she's back home. Maybe she'll get to grow up with some time alone and not have her big sis there in arms reach."

"She doesn't have a choice at this point."

"Exactly, I told her good luck while she was hugging me and not wanting me to go." She smiled wamrly at the memory and Jaune matched with a smile of his own as they walked out their room.

"Ah, I see you two are ready." Both of them turn their heads to see Blake waiting patiently with her bag to the side. "Everything went well?"

"Of course" said Yang, walking up to Blake. "How was Ice Queen?" The question stirred a strong eye roll from the calm and collected girl.

"Don't get me started." The negative body language and head shaking told more stories than words could express what was felt in that small span. "Absolutely the worst night I've had and I'm afraid there's plenty more to come this semester. But, I can be just as nasty to her too. I'm not going to put up with her nonsense for long."

"Good, you already know how girls like her work. You fight back and she probably won't mess with you. You're a tough girl if you ever needed a reminder." Yang smiled to her ex-dormmate and Jaune could really sense the two had a strong bond dating way back.

"So uh...how bad was ice, I mean...Weiss?" Jaune tried to make a joke but it felt weird coming

"She kept me up all night with her loud snoring to start, I'm surprised I was able to sleep." Both Yang and Jaune snapped their heads towards Blake at her comment

"Oh really?" Yang asked nudging her friend with a smirk. "Miss uppity princess acting so unladylike? Please, do tell."

"Only if blondie over here doesn't gossip to anyone else." Her fingers pointed to Jaune in which he reacted defensively.

"Hey! I don't just say whatever comes to mind to people. I'm on her shit-list without ever talking to her. I don't want to give her anymore fuel than she has now."

"And I'm telling you to keep it between the three of us. That's all. Discretion seems to be a difficult thing for you from first glance." Frankly, he hasn't been the most socially adept person in the room and he'll just handle his losses. He nodded to her to show he won't tell in which she smiled. The three would walk to the main building for their classes, paying apt attention to Blake and recounting her disastrous experience with her realizing it, Jaune's initial hunches came true.

This is one weird way to start a semester.


	2. Nostalgia

It's been only a week after the semester began and things have calmed down for Jaune. The first day getting unpacked and living with Yang was turbulent for one and alienating her friend was another issue created from the error. That's not even getting to when classes began and started throwing out assignments like candy. Homework, quizzes, lectures and books was all he got in that span and he surprisingly adjusted well. He got to study on his little desk in his room while Yang and her friend Blake chatted away on the bed, studying whenever they dropped the topic at hand only to return to it shortly. The living situation hasn't been an issue and he can thank his earbuds for blocking out any gossip or noise he shouldn't be hearing. Likewise, him and Yang managed to avoid any mishaps like accidental nudity, finding underwear where they shouldn't be or what other perverted situations an outsider would imagine.

He didn't expect any of this to happen, better yet, he didn't want any of this to happen but Blake relished the awkwardness of him and Yang's situation. She wasn't evil but couldn't help but enjoy from afar with popcorn in hand. The only thing that made okay was Blake dividing her barbs on him to Yang so he didn't felt like the sole target. Making matters worse, Yang openly talked about this situation while he was still in the room and entertained it. Every time they asked about his input on a what if scenario, he would always reply with "not happening" which never failed to draw a giggle from the two. It never got annoying, since they stopped toying with the idea as of late.

The few moments Jaune had by himself allowed him to think clearly. For example, Jaune will always have a roommate, but he doesn't have to be around said roommate all the time. Making a new friend on campus could help spend time outside of the dorm and make things less awkward than it should be for himself and maybe for Yang. She seemed honest and friendly but one bad moment could change things in an instant. Does she even like the situation behind her smile? Is there anything that will trigger her or get her upset? It's fun and games but he's still worried in the back of his mind of things not going well.

At this moment, Jaune was walking back to his dormitory in the later afternoon, the sun faded in the skies and an orange hue was glowed from above. His phone rang and buzzed from his pocket and stopped his walk to answer. He checked to see who was the sender. When he saw the caller, he smiled in joy and answered quickly.

"What's up Ren?" Jaune couldn't hide his excitement and it showed for anyone watching from afar.

"Not much. Just checking up on you and how Beacon's treating you?" As usual, Ren spoke with a calm, almost casual tone and it felt like home. In regards to the answer, Jaune nervously chuckled and tried to dodge the question.

"...It's been a fun start, I can tell you that much." He wanted to go in more detail but figures text wasn't the best way to do it or our in the public. "How's Atlas? And wher-" he started, until hearing the sound of a familiar voice through the phone.

"Nora? She's right here silly!" It's almost difficult to imagine a scenario where Ren and Nora were not together, even through simple things like talking on the phone. Or hearing Nora refer to herself in third person. Ren retrieved the phone again to keep the conversation going.

"We wanted to head to Atlas, but changed our minds at the last second. Nora and I are heading to Beacon instead." Jaune's heart skipped a beat, thinking that maybe some deity above the clouds were giving him a bone for once.

"Really? That's awesome.' He then realized he was celebrating a bit too much and toned it down. "When will you two be here?"

"NOW!" Jaune jumped at the loud yell from behind him and turned to see both Ren and Nora was standing and enjoying the reaction they got out of him. Both of them were carrying their respective luggage in hand and tried to not make a sound when surprising their friend.

"Good to see you are doing well." The two male friends shook hands as they thought they wouldn't see one another until next year but here they are. The thought couldn't marinate for any time as Nora had other plans.

"Well, don't just stand there! Why don't you help a lady carry her bags!" Nora smugly smirked as she presented her belongings to him. Jaune had to regain his composure at her joke to even speak.

"Coming from you who can bench press more than me, I doubt I'll be able to help much." The two traded a laugh at the joke and Nora took her items without his help, they were heavy after all.

"I'm just messing with you, I like to carry my own weight anyways." He missed the eccentrics of Nora and didn't think anyone could replicate her personality here on campus. It's a nice breath of fresh air. Ren then took the lead, letting them know where they were going.

"Come on, let's go see our room." The remark from Ren was casual but after what Jaune went through, it triggered an alarm and a question immediately came to mind.

"Wait, you two got a dorm room for yourselves?"

"Yes sir!" Nora loudly answered his question with gusto and that drew more questions from the blonde boy.

"How, if you don't mind me asking?" Ren didn't see what the issue was so he turned to look at his friend.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought dorming with different genders weren't allowed, how did you convince the university to give you a pass?"Ren and Nora looked at one another and shrugged at Jaune.

"It wasn't really that hard. We just asked" Ren said.

"That's it? You just asked and they said yeah?"

"He did refused at first-" started Ren before Nora followed up for her boyfriend.

"But, then I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse and now we have the room to ourselves!" Nora grinned to herself, choosing not to disclose what the offer was. While the blonde student may be envious on their stress free enrollment might be compared to his, he's happy they got what they wanted. The trio of friends walked up to the dorm floor and Jaune was happy to see they were all on the same floor. Yet, the elephant in the floor needed to be addressed.

"I'm in 3-C" started Jaune as he figured to not beat around the bush. "...so I'm a few doors down from yours. Let's see if my roommate is in the dorm room" He walked to his door, checking to see if it was locked. They had gone over ground rules and he knows if the door's open, there won't be any miscues so to speak. He opened the door, entering first. He can see Yang, reading a textbook with one earbud in with her feet kicked up. Dressed in sandals, sweatpants and a long sleeve t-shirt, she didn't need to change in the case company arrived. She smiled when she saw Jaune but would grow into confusion when she spotted Ren and Nora.

"That was fast. Few days in and you're making friends." Yang smiled and raised from her seat to be polite. "I'm Yang, and before you ask, I'm his roommate and nothing else." Nora didn't waste a moment to follow up.

That's good! I was going to ask if you were his girlfriend or something!" Nora blurted out the obvious, in which Yang and Jaune didn't even flinch at all. Yang let a hand rest on the bottom of her chin as she sized the two up.

"Want to give me the rundown on how you three know one another?"

"Jaune and I were classmates in high school since Sophomore year. Over time, we bonded and the three of us grew close. We were going to attend a different university but we changed our minds at the last second" Ren said to summarize their relationships, but he also made some edits for the sake of someone.

"Now, we can just have fun like good ol times." Nora worded her sentence very carefully knowing not to make a comment about it.

"We've been through this enough" Jaune said, returning back to the dorming arrangements, "to the point we're getting used to it. With you two here, I feel things can be a bit more normal." The two blondes glanced at one another and smiled.

"We can blame Blake for that." Yang said.

"I'm surprised she's not here making trouble for the two of us." Jaune said, expecting her to pop up with a dirty joke. Nora and Ren had explained, or avoided the answer on how they lived together but wanted to know how it happened for his friend. It was time for Ren to ask a question.

"So, do any of you want to explain how this happened" Ren asked.

"Long story short, school messed up, and there was no space left to put me without including me with Yang."

"Huh, they told me a few days ago that we got the last room available." Ren was simply connecting the dots and wondered if they might have ruined things for them. The timing of it all combined with Ren and Nora having their own room upon request might had something to do with it themselves.

"It's too late to worry about what ifs anyways." Yang hopped onto the bed showing she's not upset on the potential cause or that this could have been avoided. "He's my roommate and there's no changing it." She reached for her textbook next to her desk. Jaune felt content that she gave him a chance and not closing the door on the first impression of him like a certain ice queen down the hall.

Not wanting to overstay their welcome, the two decided they had a lot to unpack and they had classes for tomorrow, meaning they needed to prepare. They said their goodbyes to the two blondes and left them alone, having a chance to just relax in silence on the same bed.A thought popped into Yang's head, who now closed her book and looked over at her dormmate.

"Jaune" she said, waiting for him to take out the earbud before going any further. He did just that and put his phone away to look over at her as she continued her sentence. "...give me your number." The request warranted a few blinks from him.

"What" was the best he could come up with.

"We're roommates right?" That is true, but to him, it didn't make sense but she proceeded to keep going. If I need to get in contact for anything or something, it'd make more sense to text you than running down the hall to bother Ren and Nora don't you think?" By that logic it made perfect sense and on the off chance Ren and Nora aren't around, she can't reach him. Jaune took out his phone, heading to his phone app.

"What is it?" Yang didn't respond and instead grabbed his phone before he could react and giggled.

"Let me do it." She also realized he didn't have a lock screen on his. "You should change your phone to be a bit more protective of your things. Don't know what I might find here." Jaune had nothing to hide on his phone so he just shrugged at her.

"Good luck, not going to find anything on there." She started entering her number and saw at one point a very certain contact with hearts next to the name popped up as the area code was the same. This sparked many ideas in her head but she focused on entering her number in his phone before passing it back to him and he couldn't help but grin a bit.

"Did you find anything?"

"Fortunately, no. You're off the hook." Yang crossed her arms, showing her disappointment on her face."Though, I did see something. Who's Pyrrha?" For the first time, she can see his demeanor change from his face. He looked shocked but it soon change to somber and disgruntled, like she brought back bad memories.

"How did you-" he began before checking his phone. Yang's area code numbers were similar and was why Pyrrha name popped up.

"I saw hearts next to her name. I didn't want to assume but is she your girlfriend?"

"No, she was my girlfriend." Yang didn't even say anything in response, having brought an awkward atmosphere in when she tried to have a little fun in knowing Jaune a bit more. Yang didn't have an ex of her own to bring up but from what she saw around her, it never ended well and this didn't look any different.

"Sorry, I thought maybe you were hiding a girlfriend and just wanted to have fun" Yang said.

"No, I wouldn't do that. I just didn't have a reason to bring her up and I rather not talk about it anymore." Yang seemed to hit a sour spot and she didn't feel happy on triggering potential bad memories. This was a perfect moment to be light hearted and say it wasn't that serious but she knew better than to say it. So, Yang tried to change the subject quickly.

"Forget I mentioned her. That's my bad." Jaune took a deep breath after her sentence and wasn't as upset about it.

"It's fine." His fingers clutched the phone and figured it's best to just talk about it. "Pyrrha and I are still friends but we haven't spoke since we both left for college. A lot of things happened the past few weeks before I came here so...it wasn't the best time for either of us." There was a long pause in the conversation and the silence only grew. It was uncertain who should talk or if there was anything to talk. Luckily, Blake can always show up to make things interesting for them.

"Hey, did you two see the new pair down the hall? They're going to dorm together, just like you two." She took a moment to glance out into the hall, staring at something off in the distance. "Have to admit though, the guy's kinda cute, don't see a lot of guys rock hair like that." Jaune decided to help Blake before she felt the wrath of an angry Nora.

"Blake, they're my friends from high school. And I'm warning you now, don't touch Nora's man. She's the kind to get jealous very easily. Once she gets going, it's hard to stop her. Plus, she can kick my ass eight ways through Monday." Yang couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Nora beating up Jaune and chimed in.

"She did seem the type, so that's why I didn't say anything flirty to Ren. Besides, she knows where I dorm now so I can't hide from her if she doesn't like my suggestive jokes."

"Can it get worse than the ones I've heard already" Jaune asked. He was met with a resounding yes from both parties before the three of them laughed. Shortly when they came down from the laughter, Yang's stomach growled for food and she didn't eat dinner yet.

"I can't wait any longer, I need to get something to eat. You two hungry?" Jaune shook his head, not feeling in the mood while Blake came over for that exact reason.

"It's like you can read my mind, let's go to the cafe." The two girls agreed and would leave Jaune alone in his room, reading at his past messages before shaking his head. No need to head back down that road. Yang surprisingly walked back by into the dorm in a hurry, as she forgot to change from sandals to sneakers. While she's changing she talked to Jaune, just the two of them.

"Between you and me, I do like having you as a roommate. I might flirt too much or go too far with some stuff, but I don't like hurting anyone's feelings." She didn't have an ex, but it isn't as if she hasn't experienced something similar. The Pyrrha thing was still on her mind even as he tried to move on from it. Jaune hasn't gotten a chance to see her act...vulnerable in a sense? So it was a welcomed change of pace and he just gave her a soft smile, thanking her for understanding what he might have gone through without verbalizing it. "I'm heading out, you sure you don't want anything?" He shook his head.

"No thank you. I'm not really hungry, and I rather eat breakfast tomorrow after our little quiz."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit then." With that she headed out the door, leaving Jaune by himself to drift off in his memories.

* * *

The rhythmic buzzing spurred him from his slumber and forced the eighteen year old out of his sleeping position to see what time it was. He gripped the phone, scratching his messy, bed ridden hair in confusion. He noticed he woke right on time and wanted to relax a bit, knowing Yang was likely showering. Besides, it gave him time to focus on other issues not dying down in the morning. He rested his head on the pillow with closed eyes to wait a minute or two and relax and turned his body. However, he opened his eyes as he realizes there's no water running, no humming or rummaging of the drawers going on. He rose halfway out of bed, seeing to his left that his roommate was clearly knocked out and sleeping through her phone alarm. He pushed the covers off, being left in his t-shirt and shorts to go wake her up on instinct. Halfway though. he took a look down at himself and searched through his drawers for the baggiest sweatpants he can find in a hurry. It's too soon for this nonsense of a problem that would not be a pleasant sight first thing in the morning.

Once he had his pants on, he rushed to Yang's bed to stir her awake, his lower body turned to the bathroom so he was ready to move. She slowly but surely stirred awake and noticed Jaune was the first thing she woke up to. That wasn't a good sign.

"Jaune?" She blinks a few times quickly as she grows lucid. "What time is it?"

"It's 7:30, you overslept." He showed his phone's lock screen to showcase the time. She opened her eyes wide and bolted out of bed herself.

"Oh god, I didn't even prepare, I don't eve have my makeup ready either..." She was practically scrambling to get to her routine and Jaune was already behind schedule.

"I'm going to take a shower now while you-" He started before hearing Yang respond right back.

"What?! No, I need to shower first!"

"Yeah, but I'm going to run late if you do your routine. I can't wait any longer." He felt he needed to be clear that he couldn't compromise and ruin his attendance over something that isn't his problem. "I'll make it fast." Yang could only huff as while she's mad she can't shower first, she's more mad that she didn't give herself enough time to sleep and she's the one having to suffer the consequences. Noticing she's not against the idea, Jaune turns and grab his belongings and closes the door, sighing as he assumed she didn't notice anything out the norm from him.

He undressed and readily entered the tub. His mind felt at ease but his body wouldn't listen to his cries to just relax and not head down a downward, erotic spiral. Video games, the fact his friends are now on campus or the upcoming quiz later today, nothing seemed to distract him long enough. He let the hot water rinse from above his head and then sighed as he let his head bang against the tiled wall. "A freezing shower would be better than this."

As promised, Jaune went through his routine as fast as he could muster. Changing clothes, daily morning routine and making sure his hair wasn't a mess, he was ready in due time. Checking his phone, it took him ten minutes, a respectable time compared to what felt like an hour long marathon that Yang takes. Before he could even dwell on that imagery, he was already in motion to the door and walked out with his belongings. "Hey, I got finished as fast as I could."

Yang was hastily working in her little corner, waving her right hand filled with a brush to him to say she understood. "I'll try to get to class but I'm going to be late. Just go on without me." He recognized the frenetic pace and knows she has no time to waste at all. He took that cue and didn't think twice. He made sure he didn't leave anything behind before he left the room.

"I'll save you a seat alright?" He headed out, checking the time and seeing he still had fifteen minutes or so to get to class before it started. Right as he exited was Blake, who did peek in and saw Yang was not ready quite yet.

"She overslept?" He nodded to her accurate observation

"Yep." She rolled her eyes.

"Typical. I'm guessing your morning went better than hers?"

"It wasn't hard to get up in the morning but I didn't know if Yang wanted to go first despite the late start." Blake grinned to herself but held back her cunning wordplay, knowing that without Yang with them, she can't mess with him too much.

"Anyways, we got that long lecture with that annoying professor, Professor Port. We always have to remind him to head back on topic."

"I find his stories entertaining at times, but-"

"Entertaining?" She cut him off with no remorse, actually surprised he would even say that word in reference to Port. "He's a perfect case of someone who's bordering on becoming senile." Jaune raised his brows at her rather rude remark.

"Ice queen rubbing off you? You sounded just like her when she was telling me off." Blake paused as he was right.

"She rarely leaves, so I just hear her talk about mundane things, but her attitude is just so-"

"Terrible?"

"I was going to say bitchy, but that works too." Blake then decided to change topics, wanting to see his thoughts on the professor. "Back to Port, I had to study and read a lot of his material because he didn't cover it in his lecture. Please tell me I'm not alone in this." Jaune faced the same issue but reading was never a problem and he felt he can hang onto the information easier.

"You're right. I did the same thing when I got back in the dorm but it wasn't too much. I'm ready for whatever he throws at us later." The two walked over to the university, fitting in to the giant crowd of students taking their seats. As promised Jaune kept a seat to his right open and Blake sat next to the open seat, leaving Yang to be in the middle when she would arrive. Once it was time, Professor Port started promptly, no matter if there were some seats empty or students were filing in late.

"Alright class, you're aware we have an upcoming quiz. This will be saved for the last thirty minutes of class, and we'll be taking this time to try and get ahead in our course material. I know some of you are still piling in and are not looking forward to a quiz, but you are in a university, it's not going to be fun and games all the time. Had I been at your age, the amount of things that wouldn't get done would be too many to count. This reminds me of the time..."

"Here we go" muttered Blake who just put her head down in defeat, The cycle begins a new and it draws a smile on Jaune's lips. At least the blonde boy can find some amusement in the story without feeling lost. Like the rest of his classes, Port would go off on a tangent, losing the class's attention gradually over time until he looks at the clock mid-sentence or hit the punch line after flirting with it for what seemed like eternity. In the middle of his fairy tale dream about, something, even Jaune tuned him out, he heard the rattle of the door to his right, and saw Yang, twenty five minutes late and had an appearance of rushing through her routine to get here. Her hair looked more frizzled than wavy and she skipped the makeup. He doubts anyone would truly noticed of his respective gender but surrounded by sisters made him hyperaware of the little things. She took her seat, sighing and trying to fit in with the class and not draw attention to herself.

Jaune minded his own business and didn't try to eavesdrop when his dormmate began to chat quietly with her close friend and really wanted to pass this coming quiz. Thanks to the way the classroom was structured, it was a bit hard to see the front board from the seating, but he can still make out the words It would be time to take the quiz but rather than hand out sheets of paper for the students to write on, Port found it more economical to have the questions posted on the board through a projector and have them individually write their answers down. Port would not state the questions at all and would move on without warning.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Yang's fingers rests on the bridge of her nose, eyes closed and a deep sigh. He tried not to stare, but it's clear she's not having the best day. When he finished his quiz with time to spare, he glanced back out of curiosity and could see she was straining to read some of the questions. Maybe she didn't get good sleep and can't focus? Whatever the answer, Jaune couldn't do anything in his position and went back to his own paper, feeling competent in his answers and knows he'll pass with a good score. As for his dormmate? It wasn't as peaceful and simple to complete.

Time would tick away until class ended and the quiz was finally over. The students submitted their quizzes to the front and created a stack of papers for him to grade before next class. He informed everyone of reading roughly forty pages in their textbook and one last announcement. A test will be waiting for them in the next class session. This didn't sit well with Yang who was sighing with annoyance once outside the classroom and was with Blake and Jaune. She decided to be proactive, not accepting what she brought today in effort since she knows she can do better.

"Jaune, Blake, can we do a study group for this class next week, on the night before?" I really didn't feel good and missed some of the notes from the lecture, so I need to make up time and get as much notes possible." Like a good friend, Blake was there to help her out..

"I'm down to study together, I swear the class should just be an autobiography of Port. I'm learning more about him than the subject matter." Blake wasn't going to waste a moment to voice her displeasure. Jaune wasn't against the idea to study more either.

"Believe it or not, I think I kicked that quiz's ass, so I'm looking forward to the test. A little practice wouldn't be a bad idea." Yang grinned, feeling like her usual confident self and having two people to read and make notes with made it more likely to be a fun little group activity. She also wondered if Ren and Nora are taking the same class and can help out. Yang wasn't a slacker by any means but a little reinforcement goes a long way in getting things done. Next week couldn't come fast enough,


End file.
